Carousel of Memories
by ATTHS
Summary: Mulder makes a purchase that he is excited to share with Scully. A connection to their past and the future. Set post the series finale.


_February 2020_

"Hey, Scully," Mulder called from downstairs, looking around the living room with a smile. He had heard her puttering around upstairs since they had put Faith to bed over an hour ago.

She had been exhausted, a full day of playing at the park and chasing after the older children. They had walked around the pond and fed the ducks, always on the lookout for the one they saw last year that had been so gentle with Faith.

Coming home, she had yawned through her dinner, nearly falling asleep before she finished her meal. A quick bath and one story was enough to put her to sleep, her breathing deep and heavy as he laid her in her crib. Closing her door, he went downstairs as Scully headed into their bedroom.

"What?" Scully called back, her tone hushed. He smiled as he stepped closer to the stairs and looked up at her.

"Would you mind joining me downstairs, please?"

"Why?"

"Because I asked so politely," he said with a smile. She cocked her head to the side and he imitated her. "I have wine." She raised an eyebrow and smiled, and he knew she would be joining him.

"Okay. Let me grab some socks and I'll be down."

"All right," he said, drawling out the words in imitation of Matthew McConaughey, snapping his fingers and pointing them like guns, causing her to laugh softly.

He smiled as he walked back to the surprise he had set up for her. Two glasses of wine sat on the coffee table and everything else was ready, except for the lights which he quickly turned off, save for the one on the staircase. Waiting with excitement, he heard her begin to come down the stairs.

"Why… why is it dark down here?" she asked when she was halfway down. "What are you doing… oh… Mulder, no. Oh God. Please no."

"What?"

"Mulder, where…? How…? Where did you find _that_?"

He looked at the carousel full of slides set on top of a stack of books on a chair and then the white sheet he hung from the archway into the kitchen. Looking back at her, he watched her looking at the same things with a slight frown on her face.

"Scully, you act as though you're not happy about watching a slideshow," he deadpanned, knowing exactly how she felt about past slideshows, having heard enough of her groans as she sat in their basement office.

"Oh, you got that right. My God, where did you even find this?" she asked, touching the machine and closing her eyes. "The sound and the warmth of this… it's not _exactly _PTSD, but it's a close relative- a cousin perhaps." Opening her eyes, she shook her head and moved her hand with a shiver.

He laughed and walked to the coffee table to pick up the glasses of wine. "Maybe this will help with your terrible suffering." He handed one to her, and made to clink their glasses together.

"Hold on," she said, pulling her glass away before his touched hers. "I didn't say I was going to watch it."

"Well then, I'm sorry, you don't get the wine." He tried to take it from her but she moved back too quickly. Raising his eyebrows at her, she shook her head.

"Mama needs her wine," she said, her voice suddenly low and husky. "She slid down a _lot _of slides today. _And _climbed through multiple playground tunnels. She _needs _this wine." Holding the glass away from his grasp, she held her other hand up, stopping him from trying to step closer.

"Well, to be fair, it _is _easier for you to do those things, Scully, as you still meet the height requirement." Her eyes widened and he watched her struggle to not laugh and remain stern. Laughter won out as she shoved him and shook her head.

"You're such a dick sometimes," she said as she laughed.

"I _have _such a dick, or I _am _such a dick?" he teased, as she raised her eyebrows and bit her lip.

"Both," she answered, her eyes roaming his body, his blood immediately racing. Taking a drink of her wine, he watched her throat as she swallowed it, thinking of the taste of her skin.

"Don't try to tempt me, Miss Scully. Your womanly ways don't work on me." It was a goddamn lie every time he said it, and he knew it, but this was a chess game; all the pieces carefully laid out, and he was about to win. No way was he going to back down now.

"Mulder," she chuckled, stepping past him with a shake of her head, and headed toward the couch.

_Check_, he thought with a grin, knowing she was about to admit defeat. His grin disappeared quickly as she took off her thick white robe and sat on the couch with a teasing smile, her glass of wine in hand.

Watching her sit cross legged in her plaid pajama bottoms and one of his old long sleeved gray henleys, he swallowed and licked his lips. Two of the buttons were undone and her right shoulder was exposed, the shirt far too big on her.

"Uh huh," she nodded, with a smirk as she pulled the shirt up her shoulder, despite his protests as he walked towards her. "I simply sat down and look at you, coming to me, just as I knew you would. You would toss that projector out the window if I _really_ used my _womanly ways_." She smiled and took another drink of her wine.

"Actually, I was just coming over to set down my glass," he said, putting it down slowly, holding her eyes as he did.

"_Such _a dick," she said quietly, her words sounding hollow as her lips were still pressed to her glass. He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she sighed. "Okay, Mulder, against my better judgment, and only because there's a bottle of wine, I will sit through another one of your slideshows."

_Checkmate_! He thought, triumphantly celebrating with a wild dance, though only in his mind.

"But Mulder, I swear to God," she warned, pointing at him. "If there are any dead, exsanguinated cows… _one_, let alone _six_, I will not be held responsible for my actions."

He laughed and then froze, looking at the carousel with a frown, not entirely sure it was free of cows.

"Mulder? I don't like that look of uncertainty on your face…"

"No… no, we're good."

"I'm not sure I quite believe you. Bring the bottle of wine over here and set it on the coffee table. Mama will need more than one glass if she's gonna get through _this_."

"No, we're good, I promise."

"Mm-hmm. Wine please."

He laughed and went to do as she asked, grabbing the remote for the slide projector on the way back. Setting the bottle down, he sat beside her with a grin, his excitement spilling over. She sighed and cut her eyes at him and he laughed.

"Ready?"

"No."

"Too bad, here we go." He pressed the forward arrow and a picture of a sign covered the white sheet. "Yellowstone! The very first national park. Dedicated on March 1, 1872, it became a place for everyone to enjoy the unique hydrothermal and geologic wonders of the area."

Clicking to the next slide, they saw a campground with many tents. "Accommodations are plentiful in Yellowstone, whether in lodges, cabins, hotels or campgrounds. Although I'm not sure a lot of those were available when these _particular_ pictures were taken."

The next slide popped up and Scully choked on her wine and wiped her mouth, looking at him questioningly.

Two men were standing by a grill, cigarettes in their mouths and smiles on their faces. They were bare chested and clad in only bathing suits: very short and tight bathing suits, as was the fashion of the time.

"What? What is this? Who are these people?"

"This is… Bud and Fred. They are being manly men, providing for their women and children, cooking dinner over an open fire. It was the fifties, this was the only way most men cooked."

"Bud and Fred," she said, her eyes twinkling, a huge grin on her face.

"Yup, and this…" He grinned back as he clicked to the next slide and two women appeared. They were standing together, in bathing suits of the same fifties style, large white sunglasses covering their eyes, and scarves tied around their hair. "This is Nancy and Sissy. They have been best friends for years and this is their first long distance trip." Scully laughed and nodded, taking a drink of wine and putting her head on his shoulder.

"Tell me more about this little group."

For an hour, they went through the carousel of slides, laughing and drinking the entire bottle of wine, as he told her about the lives he created for the people in the photos.

Bud and Nancy had two children, Kip and Susan. Fred and Sissy had two boys, Tommy and Bobby. The families enjoyed their trip together; camping, fishing, and hiking. There were hot dog roasts and days at the beach, everyone brown and happy. The cars they drove were big and the men took great pride in their ownership, judging by the many photos taken in front of them.

The women were dressed to perfection, even while in bathing suits, hair and makeup always proper and in place. Sissy was a bit of a flirt, constantly preening for the camera while Nancy laughed beside her, the prettier of the two, but seemingly unaware of it.

The landscape was beautiful and so different than it looked now, it was like walking into a past neither of them was yet a part of, but to which they felt a special kinship. The time before cell phones, the Internet, streaming devices, Google, and twenty four hour news cycles. Instead, it was a time when life was spent outside, the world felt safe, and an adventure waited around every corner.

The last slide was of all of them on a pier, the blue ocean stretching out behind them. The men and boys were in casual suits, and the women and girls in dresses, no doubt heading out to a fancy lunch. Everyone looked so happy to be together, judging by the smiles and the closeness in which they stood.

Mulder clicked the remote and the room was filled with white light. Scully sighed as she rubbed his leg and then raised her head from his shoulder.

"That was my favorite slideshow you've ever shown me, everything was so beautiful, and not one single cow; dead or otherwise," she smiled cheekily and he laughed. "I love the story you created for them, no matter that it was purely fictional. What other adventures do you suppose they had?"

"Funny you should ask," he answered, as he stood up and set his glass down. Walking over to a box, he heard her following behind him. Opening the lid of the box, he showed her boxes of slides inside of it.

"What?" She pulled one out and opened it. Taking out a slide and holding it up, they saw a young woman in a graduation cap and gown, Bud and Sissy beside her. "This must be Susan."

"Well, she's actually called Barbara, not Susan," Mulder said with a smile. She turned her head, bringing her arm down, and looked at him quizzically.

"Mulder, how do you have a box of someone else's family's slides?"

"Remember when I had lunch with Skinner a couple of days ago?" She nodded and he continued. "On the way home, I happened to see a sign for an estate sale. I was curious and thought I'd stop in and see what was being sold."

"That was when you got the big bowl? The blue one?"

"Right," he nodded and she put the slide back, but still held the box. "I also saw this slide projector sitting in a box on a table. I opened it and found it was in amazing condition for being so old. I felt a sense of nostalgia for all the slideshows I put you through over the years, and I knew I had to have it." She smiled and he grinned. "I asked how much and they told me, but didn't mention it came with this box of slides. I had them set it aside for me as I continued looking around. I found the big bowl and not much else we absolutely needed, so I went to pay and discovered that box with the slide projector. I explained I only wanted the projector, but they insisted I take the box as well."

Taking out a box of slides, he opened it and pulled one out at random. Holding it up, they saw a Christmas tree and gifts beneath it, and they both smiled.

"As I looked at these, I saw it was years of photos and it felt weird to have someone else's private photos and memories. I called the estate sale company and inquired about the family, only gaining a name, and did some sleuthing. Turns out, Bud was named Patrick and Sissy was Maureen. They were married, not Bud and Nancy, like the story I made up for tonight." He put the slide back and replaced the lid.

"So, I had their first names and surname: Archer, and I began to see what I could find," smiling at her, he put the box back and stared at them. "For all the complaining I do about Facebook, within an hour of searching, I found Barbara Edwards, née Archer." Scully smiled at him and he nodded.

"Barbara is seventy six and lives in Colorado. Her parents passed away within a few months of each other and she was left with all the legalities it entailed. It's been very difficult for her as she has some health problems and was not able to fly here to oversee the estate sale. She had no idea that the photos were even there, not having seen them for years."

"And you, no doubt, offered to send them to her," she said softly with a knowing smile and he stared at her.

"Of course I did," he said with a shrug. "Wouldn't you want them if it was you?" She nodded and touched his arm, squeezing lightly.

"I would expect nothing less from you, Mulder," she said quietly and he nodded.

"She was so happy. She kept crying and telling me what a wonderful person I was and that I would be blessed for my kindness." He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "I told her I had already been blessed by all I would ever need and she cried again." Scully laughed and buried her face in his chest.

They were quiet, the hum of the projector the main sound in the room. Pulling back, she stared at him with wet eyes and a smile.

"So why the slideshow then? They are still her personal photos." He smiled and stroked her cheek.

"Barbara asked how many boxes there were and when I said ten, she laughed and cried. She said she remembered watching them as a kid and then when she was older, always mesmerized at seeing herself growing up in pictures. I asked what her favorites were and she said this vacation," he said, looking at the projector. "They were gone for the whole summer and it was one she always looked back on fondly. She asked for me to share _her_ favorite vacation with _my_ family before I sent them to her and so I did… just took a few liberties with their story."

Scully laughed and put her head back on his chest, her arms holding him tight.

"We don't need to send her the big bowl though, right?" she asked and he laughed, rubbing her back.

"No. I _did _ask, of course, but the big bowl is ours."

"Good. Because I really do like it."

He chuckled as he closed his eyes and held her close, listening to the hum of the machine and the memories it held…

"_The girl obviously died of something. If it was natural causes, it's plausible that there was something missed in the post-mortem. If she was murdered, it's plausible there was a sloppy investigation. What I find fantastic is any notion that there are answers beyond the realm of science. The answers are there. You just have to know where to look."_

"_That's why they put the "I" in "FBI." See you tomorrow morning, Scully, bright and early. We leave for the very plausible state of Oregon at eight a.m."_

"_It's a…"_

"_Dead cow! Exactly. Or more specifically, a dead 900-pound Holstein, its body completely drained of blood as was this one, this one, this one, this one, and so on. Six, all in all, approximately one a week over the past six weeks."_

"_A series of geometrically perfect rings appearing almost impossibly overnight in a field near Cambridge, but that was merely prelude of what was to come. Three years later, in 1994, even more complex formations occurred simultaneously on opposite ends of the English countryside with the Mandelbrot Set, were it still there, at its center. Then, in 1997, even more complex formations occurred... and I'm not wearing any pants right now."_

"_A corporeal likeness that appears unbidden from the spirit world the sight of which presages one's own death or... a double, conjured into the world by a technique called bilocation… which in psychological terms represents the person's secret desires and impulses committing acts that the, uh, real person cannot commit himself ... or herself?"_

"Mulder, the slide please," she whispered, breaking into his thoughts, and he chuckled, amazed once again at how well they knew each other.

"Don't go thinking I'm going to start doing the autopsies," he whispered back and she laughed softly.

"Well, now that you're about to lose your box of slides, and we definitely don't have any here, what exactly was your plan when you purchased the projector?" she asked, pulling back to look at him.

"I'm glad you asked," he answered, a smile pulling at his lips, even as she let out a suspicious groan. "When I saw it, it made me nostalgic for _our _past like I said, but it also made me nostalgic for the past itself. The days when the projector screen was pulled down in the classroom, or home movies were watched. The sound of the slide projector, reels of tapes, a VCR rewinding, a record player… that's _our _past, _our _memories. Faith will grow up with information at her fingertips. She won't know the time it took to learn how to use a card catalog, microfiche machines, or even using a copy machine." He shrugged and she stepped back, placing her hands on his chest.

"I can't say that I don't envy her. I hated that microfiche machine. And so did you, if I remember correctly, which I usually do," she teased, patting his chest.

"That's just it," he said, holding her wrists gently. "I don't want her to have to ride her bike to the library to learn about a subject she wants to discover like you and I did."

"Buuuuuut," she said with a smile.

"Some things, Scully… some things I want her to experience the way we did. I want her to share that with us. I want her to love that scratchy popping sound a record has when it starts, or feel that excitement of what will be seen when a projector screen is being set up. I want her to have that thirst for knowledge."

"Mulder, she's _your _child. She was born with a thirst for knowledge, of that I have no doubt." He smiled and nodded, as she tilted her head and smiled at him. "But I understand what you mean and I love that you bought that projector, especially to share it with her. Even if it still brings up some images that cause me to just…" She shivered and he laughed.

"There is one thing I will insist upon though," she said with a stern expression.

"No exsanguinated cows, I know."

"No," she laughed. "Well, yes, but not that. We need to get a projector screen, because that sheet will end up hanging there for too long if we don't. I _know _you, Mulder." She raised her eyebrows and he laughed.

"That you do, Scully," he said as he pulled her close again. "That you do."

He smiled as he thought of all the things there would be to share with Faith. Myth and reality and how to merge the two into fun learning experiences. He thought of the eye rolls he would see from Scully as he shared photos with Faith and told her about Big Blue, Sasquatches, and aliens.

He then thought of Barbara. Her favorite memories were tied to a trip taken sixty eight years ago and soon she would relive it when the box of slides arrived in the mail.

Photos would bring those beloved memories to life.

They had years ahead of them with their little girl, to create memories like the ones Barbara had with her family. Trips, birthdays, Christmases, and everyday little insignificant moments that would turn into big ones. He could not wait to capture it all and share it.

One click of a slide at a time.


End file.
